Kings Beat Coyotes 4-2 in NHL Western Conference Finals Opener

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the
Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 in Game 1 of the National Hockey League’s
Western Conference finals, improving their record to 6-0 away
from home this postseason.

The Kings never trailed, held a 48-27 advantage in shots
and snapped a 2-2 tie on Dustin Brown’s goal 2:11 into the third
period last night at Jobing.com Arena in Phoenix.

“We had a lot of rest and, coming out of the gates, we
just wanted to make sure we pushed the pace,” said Kings center
Anze Kopitar, who scored 3:53 into the first period, when Los
Angeles outshot Phoenix 17-4. “It’s a little bit easier when
you score first.”

Dwight King added a pair of goals for Los Angeles,
including an empty-net score with 47.7 seconds left.

The Kings, the eighth seed in the West, had six days off
after completing a four-game sweep of the No. 2 St. Louis Blues
in the second round. They knocked off the top-seeded Vancouver
Canucks in the opening round of the playoffs.

Derek Morris and Mikkel Boedker had goals for the Coyotes,
who host Game 2 tomorrow.

“We weren’t close in that game, we got beat in every
facet,” Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. “Hopefully we take
some lessons from it and we can be better next time.”